Everton are in talks with Lille full-back Mehmet Zeki Celik a source close to the Ligue 1 outfit told Turkish-Football.

Lille want €20m for the Turkey international but Everton are keen on getting the deal done for €15m.

The Toffees kept tabs on Celik throughout the season and with Djibril Sidibe returning to Monaco following the end of this loan stay strengthening the right-back position has become a priority.

Celik has been closely linked with several Premier League sides over the past few months.

However, Everton have emerged as front runners are are favorites to sign the 23-year-old.

Celik is a testament to the Lille scouting system who managed to discover the full-back when he was playing for Istanbulspor in the Turkish second tier.

Lille paid just €2.5m for Celik in July 2018 signing him on a five-year deal.

The full-back went onto become a star name for the Ligue 1 outfit providing five assists and scoring once in 34 games.

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Celik started 34 league games and missed just four matches in his first season at the club.

Lille finished runners-up and booked Champions League football on the back of their impressive campaign giving Celik his debut in the competition.

He started all six games in Group H.

Celik had another successful season at Lille this term providing three assists in 23 games before the league was abandoned due to coronavirus disruptions.

Lille were in fourth place when the league was ended abruptly and narrowly missed out on Champions League.

The French side were just one point behind third-placed Rennes and seven behind second-placed Marseille when the league was called off.

Celik has 14 caps for the Turkey national team.

Due to featuring regularly in the national team setup for the past two-years and his price tag the right-back would be likely to be granted a work permit to play in the UK.